3. Yeeesh, Kargman needs to work on her handling/clearing drills. n/t

4. I have noticed that the women I have introduced to shooting ...

do indeed often comment that they feel empowered and the love the feeling.

At first the comments surprised me but when I thought about it I realized that it just made sense. I never really had any concern or worry worry no matter where I was before I got a firearm. I imagine that if I were a woman, I would have felt far different in many situations.

Many women today want to be self reliant and able to take care of themselves. Often it is because they found the men in their previous relationship to be total assholes.

Another thing that I have noticed about the women I taught was that when they practice with a silhouette target they often tend to shoot more for what would be the groin area of the target rather than center body mass. When I point this out, they usually just smile at me.

5. The yoga instructor mentions Zen can be used in shooting...

One time when I was in an indoor range I was talking to an older shooter who had won many Bullseye Pistol and Police competitions in his past. He mentioned that he was considering entering once again into competitive shooting. He said, "Of course I will have to practice shooting outdoors."

I asked him, "Is it because it is so dark on this range that you have to get used to shooting in the bright light again?"

His answer was, "No, In order to compete I must have a clear mind. I have to get used to the sound of birds chirping so they don't distract me."

Monday, February 07, 2005The Joy of Shooting

***snip***

Most importantly, I have experienced zen-like states while shooting. I donít fall into these states all the time and when I do the feeling is almost indescribable. Sometimes while shooting, I shut the world out. My being is centered on aiming the sights at a distant target, squeezing the trigger, repeat, reload, repeat. Iím not aware that anyone is near me. I block out all distractions. I am unconscious of time, only aware of the gun and the target. In this state, if I am shooting at a clay pigeon, it seems to move in slow motion. As I swing the shotgun over it the pigeon seems as large as a full moon. If I am shooting at a paper target, I fixate only on where my next shot will hit. I shoot best when I am in this state.
http://tenring.blogspot.com/2005/02/joy-of-shooting.html

8. There are sorta two NRAs

The political action arm can be a bit hyperbolic, money-grubbing, annoying, and are sometimes accused of "buying" congress (like any other lobbying group).

The instructional arm is much more "normal", instructing on safety, marksmanship, maintenance, etc, and also conducting marksmanship competitions on local and national levels. This part of the NRA is comparatively quiet and competent.

Most of my dealings have been with the second part of the NRA, and I haven't run into any abnormally high levels of racism/sexism.

As for the report, it seemed even-handed. I'd guess the news manager wanted the report to come out that way, and went out of his/her way to find a black female NRA instructor for the article. If the news manager is biased, it's ok, since it aligns pretty well with my own pro-shooting-instruction-safety-inclusion bias.